Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai: An Asset to National Service
By Issa Bangura
“Mongo” is the headquarter town of Falaba district. It approximately lies 150 miles off the township of Makeni and 270 miles off the city of Freetown. Well, it was a busy morning and as usual, when travelling long distances, I sat at the back and on the left-hand side of the taxi. This time, I was reading Dr. Isaac Massaquoi’s “how much alcohol is too much alcohol?”, a fantastic presentation on the proliferation of alcohol in the city of Freetown, done by an iconic writer, published in 2015 by Politico FreeMedia Group. I had spent a few exciting days with the people of Simithia, in the Kabelia chiefdom of Falaba district. It was my first visit to Simithia and I was there to join hundreds of mourners to pay our last respect to a dignified patriot who lived a life of purpose and gratitude. He diligently served humanity and left behind a community of practice that will continue to impact and change lives, one at a time.
Apparently, I was still in my mourning cycle – reminiscing about a man, who was just a call away from his people and community. Ali (late) was a good man with a distinguished personality. He was not perfect, but he judged none and helped those who crossed paths with him to grow and develop. At about 30 minutes into the first phase of our journey to Makeni, I slept off only to be woken up by a blossom of laughter that seemed like a celebration for all, except one man, Martin, who was completely silent. Martin is in his mid-20s. He had just gained admission to study Law at the University of Makeni – a dream from his father, he continues to work so hard to fulfill. Somehow, I became curious and needed to understand why the blossom laughter of victory, but everyone was still celebrating, in what was apparently their safe space and with the lyrics of the song being played, it appeared to me that many of our young folks are not interested in politics. They just want to be happy in a society where they are not blamed, judged, victimised or isolated from national development processes, yet, predominantly enabled by the proliferation of illicit drugs including “KUSH”, which according to data form the Freetown City Council, is responsible for the death of more than 220 mostly young people, in Freetown, since the start of the year, 2025. Thanks to President Bio, to have recognised “KUSH” as a national health emergency, rehabilitated treatments centres, established a special fund, and a National Task Force, with wide scope of responsibilities to scale up essential services including prevention, treatment, social support, law enforcement and community engagement. I will come to this topic some other time.
Well, I was still struggling to understand the context of the joyful episode, so I asked, “why the laughter?” In response, my new friend from UNIMAK nodded his head and reluctantly told me “as young people, our stories are strongly connected with the lyrics: “the people nor get tin for eat”, “den don lie pa we tay”, “Dem nor care for we at all. All dis dem fet-fet, na for udat go cam suffer we next” in Emerson’s song titled “Kobobeh”, a part of his 2014 album “Home and Away”. Immediately after this conversation, like, my friend Martin, I was completely silent and as a young person, with beautiful hopes to survive and achieve great things, I was connected with their stories, and deeply reflected how difficult it was to survive in a country with limited opportunities, already grabbed by the few powerful and elite minority group, while the majority of young people who makes up for over 50% of the country’s population continues to suffer in misery, rejection and abject poverty.
At this point, the conversation naturally shifted to sport and food sufficiency. In fact, one of the passengers showed me some flyers, a family friend who lived in Freetown had shared with her via WhatsApp. Two of those flyers were on the “Inter-MDA’s Football Gala (2025)” jointly organised by the National Sport Authority (NSA) and the Ministry of Sports (MoS) while the other flyer was on the “ESA Rice” – a food sufficiency initiative inspired by Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai to compliment Sierra Leone’s government’s “Feed Salone” programme providing high quality rice at an affordable price of 620 NLe, which is comparatively lesser compared to the cost of other rice being sold in Sierra Leone. The next question the driver asked was “Emmanuel who?” Surprisingly, almost all of the passengers knew he is a renowned lawyer, a lecturer, a football administrator who owns Luawa FC, and with access to internet, one of the passengers, who also followed him (ESA) on Facebook, and LinkedIn showed me his pictures and added that Emmanuel is the substantive Executive Director of the National Sports Authority, born and raised in Luawa Chiefdom, Kailahun district.
Well, who else is Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai? I actually met Emmanuel over 5 years ago, while I was reading LAW at Fourah Bay College, but with the proximity of social media and the internet, I have known him for over 10 years now, and it all started when I was a student at the then Mass Communication Department, now Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, at FBC, University of Sierra Leone. Then, he was invited as a guest lecturer on the Freedom of Information Act, 2013, by the then Head of the Mass Communication Department, Dr. Isaac Massaquoi. Emmanuel is a celebrated human rights and constitutional lawyer, with over 16 years of practical and professional experiences in legal and evidence-based advocacy. In 2004, he worked at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as a researcher and later served as an intern at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2006 and 2007. Emmanuel would later establish the Society for Democratic Initiative (SDI) in 2009 where he led the national and global evidenced-based advocacy and campaign for the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act in 2013, that makes information accessible to all Sierra Leoneans, making it an offence for both public and private institutions to illegally deny any person access to any information.
He was later appointed by President Bio to serve as Chairman of the Independent Procurement Review Panel (IPRP), in 2021. During his tenure, he reformed the IPRP – a creation of section 65 (1) of the National Public Procurement Act No. 10 of 2016, making it more functional, and accountable with increased visibility, trust and public confidence, despite being underfunded. Emmanuel also served as Chairman of the Sierra Leone Premier League Board, in 2019, with the primary objective to transform football, making it an art, a tool for peace, national cohesion and a platform for youth employment. He also orchestrated the most electrifying football seasons in Sierra Leone’s history, reignited national pride and drew thousands back into the sport. He revitalised the Female Premier League and supported mini sport competitions across the country. He is the Head of Department, Legal Studies, at the Faculty of Law, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, where he has mentored hundreds of lawyers across Sierra Leone. He is a publisher, a poet and a writer who has published several brain-transforming books including the “Freedom of Information Law and Good Governance: The Curse of Corruption in Sierra Leone”, published in 2022, “Electoral Politics, Laws and Ethnicity in Africa” published in 2023 and finally “A Global Village Boy” – a reflection on migration, cultural adaptation, and the complexities of life in both rural and urban settings, published in 2024.
As the Executive Director of the National Sports Authority, Emmanuel has transformed the nation’s sports landscape, bringing structure, professionalism, and renewed energy. In his wisdom, in 2024, Emmanuel introduced an internship programme for young university law graduates, that resulted in the development of four landmark policies and regulations guiding the conduct of the Sport Development Fund, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the National Sports Basket Fund, and National Road Safety. In partnership with Non-Governmental Organisation, Emmanuel has commissioned an ambitious plan to transform over ten dusty pitches across Sierra Leone, into artificial turf fields with tracks, aiming to enhance athlete performance, because for him, sports serve as a significant economic driver and job creator, potentially employing over 10,000 Sierra Leoneans. Similarly, as Executive Director of SDI, Emmanuel designed and implemented transitional justice, public sector reforms and humanity programmes across Sierra Leone with offices and operational areas including in PortLoko, Kambia and Bombali districts. He is significantly engaged in food security and multiple agricultural investment initiatives across Sierra Leone.
Emmanuel holds a PhD in Constitutionalism and Rule of Law from the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London in England, and a Master in Anti-Corruption Studies from the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Austria. Emmanuel additionally holds L.L.M. in Human Rights, from the Central European University in Hungary and then both and LLB and BA from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He is also an expert in Africa Development, with a Postgraduate qualification from the London School of Economics, in England. Also, Emmanuel holds a Postgraduate qualification in Comparative Media Law and Policy Advocacy from the University of Oxford (UK), as well as being a Fellow at Stanford University, where he also holds a Postgraduate qualification in Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. So, fancy this: with such a reservoir of knowledge and experience, the fair of God, plus a high level of integrity, handwork and dedication, Emmanuel brings an incredible asset to national service in the best interest of Sierra Leone.
